Why “Question of the Day” Has Become One of My Favorite Parts of Morning Meeting

One of the best things I added to our classroom routine this year has been a simple “Question of the Day” during morning meeting.

Honestly, I originally started doing it just to get my students talking more with each other. But it’s turned into one of my favorite parts of the day.

Every morning, my students come in excited to hear the question. Some days the questions are silly, some are thoughtful, and some completely crack me up. But no matter what the question is, the conversations we have are SO good.

I’ve noticed my students speaking in fuller sentences, listening better to each other, and getting more comfortable sharing in front of the class. One of my favorite things has been hearing my students who receive speech services naturally start using the skills they’re working on during real conversations with classmates. Seeing that confidence grow has been awesome.

It’s also helped us build such a sweet classroom community. My students are learning about each other’s personalities, interests, families, and ideas. They laugh together, ask questions, and make connections that probably wouldn’t happen otherwise.

And the best part? It takes almost no prep.

Some days our Question of the Day lasts 2 minutes. Other days it turns into a whole class discussion because everyone has something to say.

If you’re looking for an easy way to encourage speaking, listening, creativity, and classroom community, I highly recommend trying it!

Here are some of my students’ favorite Question of the Day prompts:

Feelings Questions

• What makes you feel proud?

• What helps you calm down when you’re upset?

• What’s something that makes you really happy?

• When do you feel brave?

• What does it feel like to be nervous?

• What’s something kind someone has done for you?

• What makes you smile every day?

• What do you do when you miss someone?

Character & Behavior Questions

• What does it mean to be a good friend?

• What’s one kind thing you did for someone recently?

• What should you do if someone feels left out?

• Is it more important to be fast or helpful?

• What makes someone a good teammate?

• What’s something you can do when you feel frustrated?

• Have you ever helped someone without being asked?

• What does respect look like in kindergarten?

Would You Rather? Questions

• Would you rather fly like a bird or swim like a dolphin?

• Would you rather eat only pizza or only tacos forever?

• Would you rather have a pet dinosaur or a pet dragon?

• Would you rather be super fast or super strong?

• Would you rather live in a treehouse or a castle?

• Would you rather have snow every day or sunshine every day?

• Would you rather have 10 dogs or 10 cats?

• Would you rather go to the zoo or the aquarium?

Favorites Questions

• What’s your favorite book?

• What’s your favorite movie?

• What’s your favorite color?

• What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

• What’s your favorite thing to do at recess?

• What’s your favorite holiday?

• What’s your favorite song right now?

• What’s your favorite animal?

Free Time & Hobbies Questions

• What do you like to do after school?

• What’s something you’re really good at?

• Do you play any sports or instruments?

• What’s your favorite thing to build or create?

• What’s something you wish you could learn?

• What do you like doing with your family?

• What’s your favorite rainy day activity?

• If you had a whole free day, what would you do?

Food Questions

• What’s your favorite breakfast food?

• What food do you never want to eat again?

• If you could invent a new flavor of ice cream, what would it be?

• What’s the best pizza topping?

• Do you like crunchy foods or soft foods better?

• If you could only eat one snack forever, what would it be?

• What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever tried?

• Pancakes or waffles?

Have You Ever? Questions

• Have you ever lost a tooth at school?

• Have you ever ridden on an airplane?

• Have you ever stayed up really late?

• Have you ever been camping?

• Have you ever met someone famous?

• Have you ever helped cook dinner?

• Have you ever seen snow fall really hard?

• Have you ever laughed so hard your stomach hurt?

Future Questions

• What do you want to be when you grow up?

• Where would you love to travel someday?

• What’s something you hope to learn this year?

• What would your dream house look like?

• If you could create a new invention, what would it do?

• What’s something you’re excited to do when you’re older?

• Would you rather work with animals or people?

• What kind of car would you want someday?

Imagination Questions

• If your stuffed animals came alive at night, what would they do?

• If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?

• If you discovered a secret door in our classroom, where would it lead?

• If animals could talk, which animal would be the funniest?

• If you could make a new holiday, what would it celebrate?

• If you lived underwater, what would your house look like?

• If you opened a restaurant, what would you serve?

• If you could shrink tiny or grow giant, which would you choose?

Thought-Provoking Questions

• Is it better to be funny or smart?

• What makes a place feel like home?

• Why do you think people need friends?

• What would happen if nobody ever slept?

• Do you think animals have feelings?

• What makes someone a leader?

• Why is it important to tell the truth?

• What would the world be like without music?

Just for Fun Questions

• If you had to wear one costume every day, what would you choose?

• What animal would make the worst school teacher?

• If your shoes could talk, what would they say?

• Would you rather have spaghetti hair or pancake feet?

• If you could rename colors, what would you call them?

• What would happen if it rained chocolate milk?

• If you could switch places with your teacher for a day, what would you do?

• What’s the silliest thing you can imagine?

I’m always looking for new Question of the Day ideas, so feel free to share your favorites too!

Thanks for stopping by,

Andrew